Lou Beale
Louise Ada Beale (nee Medeemey) was a character on the first three years of the series, EastEnders. She was played by the late actress Anna Wing from the series beginning in 1985 through 1988, when the character passed away. The Square's original matriarch Lou Beale was considered to be the first, the most memorable, and most formidable of the many matriarchs that have populated Albert Square in the London borough of Walford. Her family, the Beales, ran Albert Square for many years. Lou Medeemey had three sisters, Queenie, Elizabeth and Elsie, as well as a brother named Terence. Terence was a rather dodgy character; while Elsie would be aggravating Lou about her new middle-class existence, which included a lot of new things. Liz and Queenie, who were in the same boat as Lou, were also aggravated by Elsie's putting on airs, and would usually side with their eldest sister. She was married to one Albert Beale and she was the mother of twins, Pauline Beale and Pete Beale. She had four other children, Kenny, Dora, Ronnie, and Harry (she and Albert would have another daughter named Maggie, whom she had given up for adoption, she grew up in Ireland and would later meet her youngest sister, Pauline in the 1990s). Albert died in 1964 from what would be called today as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. She was the grandmother of Mark, Michelle and Martin Fowler (by Pauline), as well as of David Wicks (Pete's son by Pat Harris, who would be adopted by her second husband, Brian) and of Ian Beale (Pete's son with Kathy). It was originally thought that Simon Wicks, called Wicksy, was also her grandson, but it was later revealed by Pat that he was the blood son of her husband at that time, Brian Wicks. She admitted to a furious Lou that she lied about his paternity to keep Kenny, Pete, Simon and David under her control. Lou thought that Pat had messed around on Pete with his own brother, Kenny. As such, a furious Lou sent Kenny to New Zealand, where he got married and had a daughter named Elizabeth. Her husband had owned a fruit and vegetable stall in the square's open-air market, which had been begun by his father. The stall was then passed down to her youngest son, Ronnie, who was the shyest, then was passed down to Pete, then to Ian; then to his cousin Mark and the stall is currently owned and operated by Martin, now the patriarch of what is left of the Fowler family. Lou was always known for getting her way and she was quite stubborn and opinionated. When she didn't get her way (which was sometimes the case), she would storm off to her bedroom (with her whining, "I'm goin' to me bedroom!") where she would lay in bed and sulk. Pete and Pauline were the usual targets of her wrath, as she would threaten them with being cut off from the family if she didn't get what she wanted. She had a plethora of health issues which did keep her bed-ridden, but still active enough to cause no end of trouble. She didn't much converse, but she rather proclaimed edicts! She was the head of the family, and she made that truly clear to the family. She was close friends and cronies with Dot Cotton, who worked with her daughter, Pauline, at Walford's launderette; and she was also friends with widowed Ethel Skinner (Gretchen Franklin). The three women were often fixtures at the nearby Bingo parlor in Walford, and Lou would get aggravated if she even missed one game. Pete was married to the former Kathy Hills (Gillian Taylforth), his second marriage, and was the father of Ian (Kathy would later marry the thuggish Phil Mitchell, and give birth to Ian's half-brother, Ben Mitchell). He had once been married to the rather loose Pat (whom she did not like. As stated above, Pete was the father of her oldest son, David Wicks), and also served as a surrogate grandmother to David's younger brother, Simon, called Wicksy. Pete's twin sister, Pauline, was married to one Arthur Fowler (she had become engaged when he came over to cheer her up after she was laid up with the flu, thus missing their sister, Dora's wedding, which was a good thing, as it was a monumental disaster), and was the mother to Mark, Michelle and Martin. Lou was also the great-grandmother to Michelle's children, Vicki (via Den Watts); and Mark Jr (via Grant Mitchell); and Bex Fowler (Martin's daughter by Sonia Jackson). She was also the great-grandmother to Ian's children, Steven (although his real father was Wicksy), Bobby, Cindy, and twins Peter and Lucy. She was also the namesake of Louise Mitchell (Tilly Keeper), as she had been named by her mother, Lisa, when she was married to Lou's grandson, Mark, who was her legal father, since Lisa had never divorced him when he died. Recently, young Lauren Branning named her son, by Steven Beale, Louie, in Lou's honor. In her waning years, Lou lived with Pauline and her family, in the home that she herself had raised Pauline and Pete. It was a house she rented from the Walford council which had once been occupied by her mother. She ruled the family with an iron hand, and despite her stubborness, her surliness and her often antagonizing behavior, she also loved them in equal measure. Lou wasn't always disagreeable and antagonistic, though. Indeed, there were a few times when she could be truly loving to those in her brood who needed her when times were tough. She comforted Ian when he cried to her about what Pete was doing to him by insulting his dreams; and she was there for Michelle when she revealed that she was pregnant. Lou was there to comfort her when she broke down. After telling her family some home truths, Lou went upstairs to her bed for the last tine and she died peacefully in her sleep from heart disease. She also bequeathed things that meant a lot to her to the family. When her mother died, Pauline would later become the battle-axe of the square. She would remain so until 2006, when she herself would die. Pauline would become far worse than her mother had been. However, Lou's strength and devotion to family would be passed down to Pauline, who would also pass it down to Michelle, and now it is Bex who seems to have received that trait. Lou would have been proud to see her great-granddaughter being the person who is the glue that holds the family close together; and carrying on the Beale-Fowler name, proudly. Category:EastEnders characters